Internal-combustion engine.



H. T. WILSON. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I, 1915.

Patented July 13, 1915.

w .w W T H Attorney COMPANY, OF MIDDLETO'WN, OHIO.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION LMWAIM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July in, rain.

Application filed March 1, m5. Serial m. 11,288.

' is diversity of form or dimension in,v the product or if the number of produced units is small. The investment for production is alsonecessarily increased if there be diversity in the product. Modern methods of machine production call for labor-saving machines and appliances adapted for a particular product, and if there be a diversity of products then there must be large increase in investment in the producing facilities.

In the production of internal combustion engines of small size, say engines of five horse-power each for example, there may be produced at a given cost, the amount of which will depend largely upon the facilities provided and on the number of engines being put through the production operations. If, now, ten horse-power engines are to be produced, the same manufacturing considerations will apply as in the case of the five horse-power engines. But it is obvious that the manufacturing equipment pertaining to the five horse-power engines may not be suitable for the ten horse-power engines, an increased investment "in equipment therefore becoming necessary. Again, the demand for the large engines might be more or less than the demand for the small engines but, however that may be, the diversity of sizes, will necessarily reduce the number of'engines of each'size, thus increasing the cost of production of each size.

My improvement contemplates the concentration of the production-energy on engines of a single unit size, engines of greater power, in multiples of the single unit size, being produced by combining as many engines of the single unit size as the conditions may call for, each unit sized engine being an engine with its own crankshaft and the large engine being a combination of such unit engines, all so combined as to work in synchronism.

Her 1". Watson, or nrrnnnnrown, onro, nssrenon to Ten nrnnnn'rown' nncnr My improvement will be readily understood from the following description taken n connect on with the accompanying drawing in wh1ch:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a single unit internal combustion engine, embodying my invention, the engine being illustrated as of vertical type, the type, however, being immaterial. Fig. 2 a front elevation of the same engine, parts appearing in vertical section in the plane of line a of Fig. 1,

shown in combination with portions of a second similar unit engine. Fig. 3 a radial section through the rims of the contiguous flywheels of two combinedunit engines, the SBCtIOII' appearing on the plane of. line a: of Fig. 1: and Fig. 4 a plan of the upper tie between the combined engines, a portion of the cylinder of each engine appearing in horizontal section in theplane of line I) of Figs. 1 and 2.

In the drawing :1, indicates the base of.

the unit engine, which base may, if desired, be utilized as a fuel tank: 2, the crankshaft bearing supported by the base: 3, the crankshaft: 4, a flywheel on one end of the crankshaft: 5, a flywheel on the other end of the crankshaft: 6, the cylinder: 7, the valvecasing: 8, the intake pipe: 9, the mixer con nected thereto: 10, the magneto: 11, the spark-plug: 12, the exhaust opening: 13, the crank-case: 14, the base-plate: and 15, the hopper for the cooling water.

. The parts thus far referred to pertain to a" single power-unit and may be of usual construction as to details and organization, and subject to any usual and suitable modifications. that this singlepower-unit is of five horsepower, if an engine of double that horsepower is desired, it is gotten by combining with the first unit. a second similar unit,'. a

and so on, units being combined in series to any desiredand practical extent. l Proceedingwith the drawlng :--.16, indi- Assuming, as a mere example,

cates a. driver projecting from the outer face threaded holes in circumferential series in i of flywheel 4, this driver being illustrated as 5, or, if desired, there may be six a level higher than the tops of 22, an engine to be like the the face of the flywheel, into any selected one of which holes the pin 16 may be placed, the holes being uniformly spaced sixty degrees apart: 18, an aperture in the outer face of flywheel 5 at the same radial distancefrom the center of the crank-shafts as holes 17, this aperture 18 being adapted to receive the projecting driving pin of a second engine placed alongside the first one, there being a single aperture 18 in flywheel of them spaced sixty degrees apart: 19, lugs at the extreme outer sides of the base of'the engine: 2( bolt holes in these lugs; 21, lugs projecting from each side of the engine at the flywheel: one that has been described, this second engine being disposed with its crankshaft in alinement with the crankshaft of the first engine, and with .the base lugs in contact with each'other: 23,

clamping bolts through the base lugs, positioning the two engines relative to each other and holding them firmly together :and 24, atie-bar having its opposite end securely bolted to the upper lugs of the two engines.

. Giving consideration to the single unit, the driver 16 and the aperture 18 will be without oflice.

1S put into combination with the first unit 16, the two crankshafts such angular relationship angular spacing of holes p then the driving pin of one unit enters the aperture of the other unit so that the crankshaft of the two units turn in unison. By reason of the selective positions for the pin may be put into to each other as limitation of the 1701 the similar angular spacing of such plurality of apertures 18 as may be provided, it being understood, of course, that if the driving pin can be placed in selective positions a single aperture 18 will be 'suflicient,-' and that if the,

may be desired, within the holes 18 are provided in angular series a selective position 'sary.

A second unit having been added tom first one, thus doubling the power of the plant, a third unit may be added, either against the second unit or against the unoccupied side of the first unit. This combination of three units will or may call for a readjustment of the angles of the cranks of the units relative to each other, and this can readily be done by appropriate selection of for the driving pins, in an and similarly when; still more units are added, each additional unit for pin 16 will be unnecespossibly calling for a readjustment of the relative crank angles.

It is to be understood that I have set forth 7 in detail merely a single exemplification of my invention. I have sought simply to set uniting the But when the secondunit comprising,

uniting the frame-portion of the unit to the frame-portion of a second similar unit when two units are placed side by side with their two crankshafts in alinement, a coupling device carried by one end of the crankshaft and adapted to engage a coupling device on the contiguous end of the crankshaft .of said second unit, and means for adjusting the angular relationship of the crankshaft to the crankshaft of said second unit, combined substantially as set forth. v

2. An internal-combustion engine-unit comprising, a frame-portion, a crankshaft, coupling devices adapted to serve in firmly frame-portion of the unit to the frame-portion of a second similar unit when two units are placed side by side with their two crankshafts in alinement, a couplingmember carried by one end of said crankshaft and a coupling-member carried by the opposite end of said crankshaft and adapted to serve in coupling said crankshaft to the contiguous end of the crankshaft of said second unit, combined substantially as Set forth.

3. An internal combustion engineunit a frame-portion, a crankshaft, coupling devices adapted to serve in firmly uniting the frame-portion of the unit to the frame-portion of a second similar unit when two units are placed side by side with their two crankshafts in alinement, a couplingmember carried by one end of said crankshaft, a coupling-member carried by the opposite end of said crankshaft and adapted to serve in coupling said crankshaft to the contiguous end of the crankshaft of said second unit, and means for angularly adjusting the coupling devices of the crankshaft relative to each other whereby engine-units may be combined with their crank-shafts in alinement and with their cranks in selective angular relationship to each other, combined substantially as set forth.

4. An internal-combustion engine-unit comprising, a frame-portion, a crankshaft, coupling devices adapted to serve in firmly uniting the frame-portion of the unit to the frame-portion of a second similar unit when two units are two cran'kshafts in alinement,a flywheel on each end of the crankshaft in positions to lie contiguous to the flywheel of said second unit, a driving projection carried by the outer face of one of said flywheels, and a recess carried by the other flywheel, said recess or said driving projection being adapted for cooperation, with correspondmg couplaced sideby side with their pling-rnembers on said second unit, combined substantially as set forth.

5. An internal-combustion engine-unit comprising, a frame-portion, a crankshaft, coupling devices adapted to serve in firmly uniting the frame-portion of the unit to the carried by the other flywheel, said recess or said driving projection being adapted for cooperation with corresponding couplingmembers on said second'unit, and means for adjusting the coupling device on one of the flywheels angularly with reference to the crankshaft, combined substantially as set 20 forth. i

REY T. WILSQN.

Witnesses:

DOROTHY S. HARRISON, GEORGE A. CHRis'rMAN. 

